BEN 
,vouto! to improve the arts, fo he wilhed alfo to recover 
the faiences of Hindoftan, and therefore directed that three 
inch places fliould be ereCted; one at Delhi, another at 
Agra, and a third at Benares. It is 120 miles weft of Pat- 
jia, and 335, north-weft of Calcutta. Lat. 25. 24. N. Ion. 83. 
jo. E. Greenwich. 
BENARU', a town of Perfia, in the province of Farif- 
tan : 108 miles foutk-fouth-eaft of Schiras. 
BENARVIL'LE, a town of France, in the department 
of the Lower Seine : five leagues N. E. of Montivillier^. 
BENATCK.', or Benatek, a town of Bohemia, in the 
circle of Boleflaw, fitnated on the IlTer : the celebrated 
Tycho Brahe died here in 1601 : eight miles fouth-fouth- 
weftofJung Buntzel, and twenty-two north-eaft of Prague. 
BE'NATH./.JfiKJsfeMf/i, Arab.] Small puftles which 
rife in the night. 
BENAVA'RI, a town of Spain, in the country of Ara¬ 
gon, on the frontiers of Catalonia : fix leagues eaft.of Bal- 
baftro. 
BENAVEN'TE, a town of Spain, in the country of 
Leon, on the Efta, containing feven pariflies, fix convents, 
two holpitals, and about 4000 inhabitants : thirteen leagues 
fouth of Leon. 
BENAVTDUS, or Bonavitus (Marcus Mantua), a 
celebrated civilian, who taught civil law during fixty years, 
at Padua the place of his birth ; and died in 1382, aged 
ninety-three. His principal works are, 1. ColleCIanea fu- 
per Jus Caefareum. 2. Confiliorum, tom. ii. 3. Problc- 
matum. legalium.. .4.. De illuftribus Jurifconfultis, &c. 
BEN BECU'LA, one of the weftern iflands of Scotland, 
lying between North and South Vift, feparated from South 
Vift by- a narrow channel, which at low water is hardly 
four feet deep ; it is about ten miles in circumference, 
with a-harbour for' final 1 .fitting vefl'els. It has .feveral 
frett-water lakes, well ftored with fi(h and fowl. 
BEN'BOW (admiral John). This brave feaman was de¬ 
fended from a refpeCtable family in Shropftiire. Both 
his unde Thomas'Benbow, and his father J0I111 Benbow, 
Ef'qrs. poflefled good eftates in that count'y. On the rup¬ 
ture between Charles I. and his parliament, thefe two 
brothers were among the firft and forwarded: to venture 
their lives and fortunes in the royal caufe; they were both 
colonels in the king’s army. At the memorable battle of 
Worcefter, which was fought on the 3d of September 1653, 
they were taken prifoners. Colonel Thomas Benbow was 
brought to a trial, together with the earl of Derby and’Sil' 
Timothy Featherftonhaugh: they were all found guilty of 
being in the king’s fervice : the earl was executed at Bol¬ 
ton, in Lancattire ; Sir Timothy at Chefter ; and colonel 
Benbow was fhot on the 19th of OCtobcr at Shrewlbury. 
Admiral Benbow’s father was fo fortunate as to efteCt his 
efcape from pri'fon, and concealed kimfelf until the refto- 
ration; but his fortune was entirely gone, and, in ad¬ 
vanced years, he was deftitute of a fubfiftence. In this 
diftrefs he gladly accepted of an inconfiderable poll be-*, 
longing to the ordnance in the Tower, which only furnilh- 
ed a fcanty pittance for himfelf and his family. Here he 
continued until the firft Dutch war in the reign of Charles II. 
when the king, going to infped his arfenal in the Tower, 
caft his eyes on his faithful adherent Benbow, whofe head 
had been filvered over for twenty years. Colonel Benbow, 
(faid the king,) what do you do here l” “ I have, (re¬ 
plied the colonel,) a place of fourfeore pounds a year, in 
which I ferve your majefty as cheerfully as if it brought 
me in four thoufand.” “ Alas! (fitid Charles,) is that all 
that can be found for an old friend at Worcefter ?” The 
king hereupon ordered him to be with him the next morn¬ 
ing, declaring he would provide for him and his family. 
The joy at this unexpected good fortune was too intenfe 
for the exhaulted powers of a feeble old man, fo that, 
throwing himfelf upon a bench hard by, he there breathed 
bis laft before the king was well out of the Tower. As 
Charles did not fee his “ old Worcefter friend” as he had 
appointed, it is mod probable that he thought no more of 
the engagements he? had made to him ; fo that his family 
e Vgl. II. No. 109. 
BEN 8S.1 
from that hour became deftitute, and added one 'o the 
many inftances of that king’s negleCt of his belt friends-. 
Admiral Benbow, the fort of this unfortunate royalift, was 
bred to the fea, and fome writers aflert, that his Ration 
was,' at firft, no better than a waterman’s boy ; nor is the 
probability of this faCt at all lelTened by his being owner 
and commander of a (hip, called the Benbow frigate in fome 
part of Charles II’s reign. In this velfel he traded up the 
Mediterranean, in which employment he recommended 
himfelf to the efteem of the merchants, for his bravery, 
fkill, and activity. As a commander, he had the charac¬ 
ter of treating his feamen kindly, but at the fame time 
keeping up a rigid difeipline. He might'probably have 
fpent his whole life in this undiftinguifhed fituation, with¬ 
out having his talents exerted in rendering efl'ential fervice 
to his country, but for the following event, which very 
ftrongly marked the Angularity of the man, as well as his 
intrepidity ; and which caufed his future advancement. 
In the year 1686, captain Benbow, in his own veffel the 
Benbow frigate, was attacked, in his paftage to Cadiz, by 
a Sallee rover, againft whom he defended himfelf, though 
very unequal in the number of men, with the utmoft bra¬ 
very ; till at laft the Moors boarded him,, but were quickly 
beat out of the ftiip, with the lofs of thirteen men, whofe 
heads captain Benbow ordered to be cut off, and thrown 
into a tub of pork pickle. When he arrived at Cadiz he 
went afiiore, and ordered a negro fervant to follow him, 
with the Moors’ heads in a fack. He had fcarcely landed, 
before the officers of the revenue infifted on feeing what 
he had in his fack. Captain Benhovv anfvvered that he 
was no ftranger there ; that he did not.ufe to run. goods ; 
and pretended to take it ill that he was fufpeCted. The 
officers, however, took him to the cuftom-houfe ; where 
the niagiftrates told him, that, fince he had refufed to 
ftieiv the contents of his Lack, to their officers, the nature 
their employment obliged them to demand a fight of them. 
The captain anfwered fternly, “ They are fait provifions 
for my own ufe ; Crefar, throw them down upon the ta¬ 
ble ; and, gentlemen, if you like them, they are at your 
fervice.” The Spaniards were exceedingly ftruck at the 
fight of the Moors’ heads, and no lefs aftonitted at the ac¬ 
count of the captain’s adventure, who with fo final 1 a force 
had been able to defeat fuch a number of thefe corfairs; 
They lent an account of the whole matter to Madrid, .and 
Charles II. then king of Spain, was fo much pleafed with 
it, that he fent for the Englifli captain to court, where he 
was received with great marks of refpeCt,- and. not only 
dif'miffed with a handfome prefent, but his Catholic ma- 
jefty was alfo pleafed to write a letter in his behalf to king 
Janies, who, upon the captain’s return, gave him a (hip, 
which was his introduction to the royal navy. 
After the revolution he diftinguifhed himfelf by feveral 
fuccefsful cruizes in the channel; where he was employed 
at the requel? of the merchants, and not only did his duty 
by protecting the trade, and annoying the enemy, but was 
alfo remarkably careful in examining the French' ports, 
gaining intelligence, and forming fchemes for annoying the 
French commerce, and fecuring our own. For this rea- 
fon, he was commonly made choice of to command the 
fquadrons employed in bombarding the French ports ; in 
all which he-ttewed no lefs courage than conduCt, being 
always prefent in his boat, as well to encourage as to'in-t 
ftruCt the feamen and engineers. The diligence and acti¬ 
vity of captain Benbow could not fail of recommendin'*- 
him-to the favour of fo wife and brave a prince as kin®- 
William; to whofe perfonal kindnefs, founded on a'jn(? 
fenfe of Mr. Benbow’s merit, he owed his being fo early 
promoted to a flag; after which, he was generally em¬ 
ployed, as the molt experienced feaman in the navy, to 
watch the motions of the French at Dunkirk, and to pre¬ 
vent, as far as it was poffible, the depredations of Bart, 
the French admiral; in which he ttewed fuch diligence 
and did fo great fervice, by preferving our merchant-ttip Sj 
that his conduCl remained unimpeached, while almoft every 
other officer of rank in the na-'y fell under the lath of cen~ 
10 P Jure/, 
